>> axelro >> axelrod: tonight, the debt rumble. the fiscal cliff crisis is averted for the time being, and washington is gearing up now for another battle-- the debt ceiling. major garrett looks ahead. >> four people are shot to death in aurora, colorado, just miles from the theater where 12 people died last july. we'll have the latest. a new jersey town secures its students by posting armed police at every school in a district free of violent crime. and acoustic overload under the sea. what the rising tide of noisy ships is doing to the lives of whales. >> i think we're trying to understand what kind of a crisis this is. captioning sponsored by cbs

this is the "cbs evening news." >> axelrod: good evening. i'm jim axelrod. washington has barely had time to catch its breath after reaching a deal on raising taxes and battle lines are already emerging for the next showdown. this week, secretary of the treasury, timothy geithner reported the u.s. government has reached its borrowing limit. this means the congress and the president have roughly two months to work out a deal to raise that limit. republicans are saying no deal without spending cuts. major garrett is at the white house for us tonight. major. >> reporter: the president returns from hawaii to find a capital city in full inaugural regalia. jim, as you mentioned, the republicans have their demands on spending cuts. the president has an inflexible demand of his own-- no negotiations over raising the debt ceiling. the grand stage at the capitol nearly complete, so, too, the presidential reviewing stand just outside the white house gate.

the first family's hawaiian vacation, carved up by fiscal cliff drama ends today. the president used his weekly address to tell the nation raising the debt ceiling to avoid a government default is a problem for congress. >> one thing i will not compromise over is whether or not congress should pay the tab fair bill they've already racked up. if congress refuses to give the united states the ability to pay its bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy could be catastrophic. >> reporter: top advisers say the president will never again, as he did in 2011, get pulled into that debate. but republicans want a fight, tying the debt ceiling to spending cuts required by the fiscal cliff. >> we're crushing today's small business and the next generation of americans under a mountain of debt. >> reporter: they see an opening at the end of february when the debt limit, new $16.4 trillion, comes up as do mandatory spending cuts in the tebz of billions. >> it's time to face up to the fact our nation is in grave fiscal danger, grave fiscal

danger, and it has everything to do with spending. >> reporter: with taxes raised now, republicans contend they own the spending cut debate. to complicate matters, the government runs out of funds for day to day operations at the end of march, meaning all three of these deadlines will soon merge. >> axelrod: major, thank you. the latest employment numbers out yesterday have the economy adding 155,000 jobs last month. not enough to budge the unemployment rate from 7.8%. it's especially slow going in the public sector. hiring there hit a six-year low. still, some government agencies are starting to add workers. this week, california's highway patrol took applications for 150 new jobs. 18,000 have applied. here's carter evans. >> reporter: traffic on the capitol hill highway patrol

training course is about to pick up speed. a three-year hiring freeze left the department short on new recruits. >> in order to save money, we have not held academy training. >> reporter: but c.h.p. assistant chief brent newman said the end of the financial skid is in sight. >> now is the time to fire you want system and begin to hire again. >> i couldn't wait. >> reporter: chelsea haley had already waited two years. so when the c.h.p. began accepting application, at 7:00 a.m. sharp thursday morning. >> i was ready at 7:00-- 6:59, actually. >> reporter: it's a grueling process just to become a cadet. >> last time around when these jobs opened up there were more than 50,000 people that applied for them. >> yes. yes, there was. >> reporter: jerome salmeron is confident his years in the air force reserve will give him an edge but he knows the competition is fierce. >> there are a lot of people coming home from iraq, just like

me who is looking for a job close to paramilitary, lie chp. >> reporter: in its hiring, the c.h.p. said it's also looking to diversify. >> i'm looking at it like i'm going to make it to the academy, god willing. >> reporter: criminal justice student jiz isn't daunt bide the tens of thousands of other applicants for just 150 jobs. >> if i was just competing against 500, what would be the fun in that. >> reporter: you want to be one in 50,000. >> exactly, i do. >> reporter: a small chance to be part of the driving force in california's recovery. carter evans, cbs news, sacramento. >> axelrod: the signs of life we're seeing in california come as the market's had a good week as well, rising roughly 4% this week on the hooems of the flsk deal. for a look at what may lie ahead we're joined by michael santoli. the good week for the market simply absorbing the news of the fiscal cliff news or the

fundamentals? >> a little bit of both. the market dodged a bullet and it reflects the fact the economy seems to have a bit of momentum coming into 2013. you saw decent jobs report. manufacturing has been okay opinion you have actually seen housing coming back. it seems the market wants to reflect a popular positive economic deal. >> axelrod: as we have been reporting there is the specter of another potential problem, fiscal cliff 2, if you will-- so will the markets begin to price in the potential of another problem or are we going to see this trend tow sew far continue? >> as we get closer to that deadline in two months or so, when you might in fact see the debt limit breached, yes, the markets would probably panic if it looks like there will be no path to a compromise there. right now i think it's a little too far ahead. the market figures there has to be a debt ceiling increase and we're dealing with 10-year spending intentions. republicans and democrats both

said some spends cuts have to happen and we'll be talking about revenue and spending to some respect. there will be room to avert a crise but the markets won't tolerate if the debt ceiling doesn't seem like it will increase. >> axelrod: but room to work it out. >> yes. >> axelrod: there has been another deadly shooting in auror acolorado, the scene of last july's movie theater rampage. four people were killed today in a home in aurora. today's siege lasted six hours. police entered the home after exchanging gunfire way man who was holding three hostages. they found all four dead. it is unclear whether the gunman was shot by the police or killed himself. a police spokesman says it is believed all four were related to each other. for the second weekend nay row, protesters have turned out in steubenville, ohio, angry over the suspected rape of a 16-year-old girl by two high school football players. police tell us between 1500 and 2,000 demonstrators descended on

steubenville, demanding justice. but as elaine quijano reports, defense lawyers say it's their clients who are being smeared. >> reporter: hundreds of demonstrators turned out in steubenville, ohio to, protest the handling of a rape case that has sharply divide the community. the two football players, malik richard monand trent maze, were photographed at a party last august carrying what appeared to be the unconscious victim. >> they knew she was in that position and they kept going. she was a toy to them that night. she was treated like a toy that night. >> reporter: internet activists, including the online group anonymous, have taken up the cause, make public a torrent of now-deleted social media posts and this video of a teen talk, about the alleged assault. stiewk police and city officials launched a web site of

their own today to "disseminate most accurate information" about the case. malik richmond's defense attorney, walter madison, said his client has been smeared by social media. >> you have individuals with anonymous user names and they say and do anything without any acountability. and the accountability being absent, there is an absence of reliability. >> reporter: mad ton told cbs news by phone today that trent mays received a text message from the girl just days after the alleged assault that read, "i know you didn't rape me." cbs news has not been able to independently verify the existence of that text. in a statement today, a lawyer for the alleged victim told cbs news, "the allegations in this case are that the young teenage victim was raped while she was unconscious. she would, therefore, have absolutely no knowledge of what was or was not done to her that evening." he add, "a picture speaks a thousands wors." the two players will stand trial

on the rape charges next month in juvenile court. elaine quijano, cbs news, new york. >> axelrod: moving overseas now, syria's state-run news agency said president bashar al-assad will make a rare speech to the nation tomorrow. there is estimates more than 60,000 have been killed in the country's civil war. rebel forces are closing in on the capital, damascus. as elizabeth palmer reports, the cross-fire is claiming even more lives. >> reporter: even by recent syrian standards, it's been a savage week. in two separate incidents, gas stations were blown up in the damascus suburbs, in one case by an airstrike, incinerating innocent citizens who had been lining up to buy fuel. over the past six moks, the number of civilians killed in this civil war has been climbing steeply. one of the organizations keeping track is the syrian observer for human rights and its spokesman

is mataz suheil. how many were you seeing a year ago. >> a year ago, we would see 60 people killed. yesterday was 200. the day before 100. the day bench that 210. >> reporter: driving that escalation in part, rebel fighters who have taken over civilian neighborhoods, turning them into battle zones. another factor it's syrian military is attacking more and more often from the air. when cbs news visited the damascus suburbs in november, sarah, a 21-year-old activist, showed us the damage done by a missile fired from a russian-made mig fighter plane. is that the worst, seeing a fighter plane overhead? >> yeah, the mig is the worst thing have ever happened to us. we can't have any safe place to hide. >> we see this as an attempt to

either force migration or the depopulating entire zones. >> reporter: it's working, too. >> it is. >> reporter: half a million people have been sent fleeing already. and the united nations is predicting there will be a million syrians seeking refuge in neighboring countries by the summer elizabeth palmer, cbs news, london. >> axelrod: later, the man-made racket that's endangering whales. super storm sandy's heavy toll on boat owners may be good for boat makers and one town's decision to put armed police officers in their schools. [ male announcer ] how do you turn an entrepreneur's dream... ♪ into a scooter that talks to the cloud? ♪ or turn 30-million artifacts... ♪ into a high-tech masterpiece? ♪

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marlborough, new jersey, to that list. >> reporter: marlborough mayor jonathan hornick considers placing police officers in elementary schools his only choice after newtown. >> we could have done nothing and hoped that something didn't happen but hope is not a solution. or we could have taken action. >> reporter: it will cost marlborough $100,000 during the next three months to protect all eight of its kindergarten through eighth grade schools. >> i don't think you can put a price tag on the children's safety. >> david abbott is school superintendent. >> it's a temporary solution. >> reporter: what does it add to have an armed officer in a school where k-eighth graders. >> in the environment we're living it does add a certain level of security for our parents. i don't think our children notice any difference. >> reporter: because, abbott says, the police are part of the community, familiar faces, not strangers with guns. that's that sits well with

marlborough parent maria vitale. >> it make me feel safer because it's a policeman that has the gun. it's not just anyone. >> reporter: but some parents worry about the impression armed officers make on children. larry kaplow thinks the move is an over reaction. >> if it prevents violence, that's great, but maybe there are some other, more efficient ways we can protect the kids in the schools. >> reporter: marlborough already locked school doors and required visitors to swipe i.d.s through a kiosk like this one that stores names of sex offenders and felons. a quaint town of 41,000 one hour from new york city, marlborough hasn't had a gun homicide in 40 years. still, police chief bruce hall says deploying his officers in every school is practical. >> you have car insurance. you have life insurance. and health insurance. you use them every day? no, but it's an insurance if you need them. they're there. that is basically what this comes down to. >> reporter: the police chief and school superintendent do concede one officer might not stop a determined gunman.

>> there is no possibility of making a school or a home 100% impervious to this kind of action. you can't do if. >> reporter: this spring, marlborough may decide whether to make the move permanent or upon pay for it. maggie laguerre-wilkinson, cbs news, marlborough, new jersey. >> axelrod: super storm sandy caused billions of dollars in damage. it's also caused a boom in the boat business. you know how painful heartburn can be.

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turned out turned out today to bid good-bye to a century old boardwalk destroyed by super storm sandy. official said the boardwalk will be rebuilt. it was originally constructed using circus elephants to lure toorusts from atlantic city. sandy is blamed for billions in damage and counting. peter grn is here to tell us of one industry that may benefit. >> there's not a lot of good you can say about hurricane accepted, but the rising tide of destruction may have risen the boating industry. along with huge losses came huge payouts. when hurricane sandy barreled

through the northeast last october, it leveled homes and businesses along the coastline. it also damaged or destroyed 65,000 boats. >> hurricane sandy was the single largest loss to recreational boating since we have been keeping track since 1966. >> reporter: as a result, one might suspect a lot of boaters and boat manufacturers were out of the water and out of business. >> best december we've had. >> reporter: welcome to the world of unexpected consequences. the boating industry is expected to enjoy one of its best years ever. why? nearly $650 million are being written by insurance companies to boat owners who are looking to get back on the water. this new injection of cash is helping manufacturers and creating new jobs, says jeff vaughan, vice president of sales for boston whaler. >> technicians who work in the yards are coming back to work to fix boats. people are buying boats so people are hiring sales people. we're seeing our business and

dealerships grow. >> reporter: it's not just the intaskt sandy helping to boost come. tom dammrich is the president of the national marine manufacturers' association. >> the consumers have had frugality fatigue. those who have the money and have jobs and are feeling confident with their future are ready to spend. >> reporter: that's what robert ludwig is doing here today at the boat show. >> i have $70,000 in my poact ready to spend on a new boat. >> reporter: overall the boating industry is forecasting a 10% increase in sales this year, but with so much dock space destroyed by sandy new boat owners could have problems finding a place to moore their new. s. >> axelrod: peter, thank you. still ahead, no sounds of silence for whales in the shipping lanes. i have the flu...

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boston, life's boston, life's been getting a little more challenging for a group trying to go about its everyday business. and by "just outside" we mean the boston harbor where, believe it or not, it's just getting too loud underwater for some of the creatures who live there. when this is the primary way a group communicates... then this is the sound of trouble. according to a recent study, that's exactly what's happening with the whale population off the northeast atlantic coast. >> i think we're trying to understand what kind of a crise this is. >> axelrod: leila hatch is

coauthor of a government study of underwater noise in the shipping lanes of the boston harbor. increased traffic there is causing whales, specifically the right whale, to lose their ability to chat with each other. >> these animals have lost over 60% and upwards of 70% under some measures of the space that they used to have to communicate with one another. >> axelrod: researchers submerged acoustic recorders to track the sounds from ships and whales. the spike in noise they detected, disrupts the whales' basic functioning says the study's coauthor, christopher clark. >> when the noise weather goes up, it's hard tore hear where the whether systems are, where the food might be, where my buddies might be. >> axelrod: nearly 350 cruise ships and cargo vessels used to use the port of boston. according to the latest statistics, the number is now 420. the noise from increased

shipping disorients the whales' population, sometimes with devastating results. >> when a ship hits a whale, the whale's dead. collisions have increased along the east coast, and in some cases, they are responsible for many, many deaths and a high percentage of the population is being killed from ship strikes. >> axelrod: there are roughly 350 right whales left in the world after they were hunted to near extinction in the 1700st. there are ongoing efforts to move shipping lanes away from boston and require vessels to go slower near feeding whales. that is the cbs evening news for tonight. later on cbs, two episodes of "48 hours." for all of us here at cbs news, i'm jim axelrod in new york. good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org